ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is set to host the largest summit in its history titled ‘Dust to Development: Investment Opportunities in Pakistan’ in collaboration with Barrick Gold on 1 August 2023, that would bring together international investors, mining industry giants, corporate leaders, and government stakeholders to create a roadmap for tapping into the incredible mineral riches the country offers today.
Despite the country’s huge reserves base of excessive quality minerals, Pakistan’s mineral sector is still far behind that of the rest of the world. The country’s exports, valued at 1.17 billion USD, are minuscule in comparison to the $3,612 billion USD global market for minerals. There are abundant mineral reserves in Pakistan. The second-largest salt deposits in the world, the fifth-largest copper and gold reserves, the second-largest coal deposits, and an estimated 618 billion barrels of crude oil are all found in one nation.
Investmnent opportunities in Pakistan
Pakistan has a lot of room for investment in the mining industry. The subsectors of mining, processing, and trading, exports offer more prospects for the private sector and direct foreign investment, but they also present obstacles due to a lack of infrastructure, antiquated mining methods, a lack of investment, and regulatory issues. By addressing these issues and putting in place sound policies, Pakistan’s mining sector may reach its full potential and boost the nation’s economy, create jobs, and increase export revenues.
Several ground research determined numerous factors that contribute to the country’s mining sector’s underdevelopment. The exploitation and marketing of minerals both have some shortcomings. The regulatory framework includes gaps between the federal mineral policy and the provincial mining policies, laws, which causes delays in the administrative process and presents obstacles for investors, particularly foreign investors.
Without a mining collateralization process, there is Low Access to Finance. There are no specialised and welcoming banking products for the mining and processing subsectors. One of the main causes of the low investment and weak growth of the minerals sector is the lack of adequate infrastructure for facilitating business, such as mine access roads, connecting road networks, utilities, and industrial zones.
Both the quarrying and processing subsectors have antiquated technology that makes it impossible to manufacture products of standardised and uniform quality for the local market in general and the export market in particular. As opposed to the worldwide benchmark of up to 45%, the quarry waste in Pakistan surpasses 75%.
With fewer skilled and trained workers at the mining and processing levels, human resource productivity is low. There isn’t a specialised training facility offering top-notch instruction in mineral, mining, and processing.
It can effortlessly be said that mining and minerals sector of the country has been long deserted. The Nation is in desperate require of strict approach alterations within the mining and mineral sector. First, the local people ought to be included in mining and renting, this will pick up their believe for smooth operations whereas giving them with business openings. Well calibrated and redesigned mining strategies ought to be presented with simple financing schemes for financial specialist to elect mechanized mining hardware to decrease quarry wastage. The advancement of businesses in inaccessible ranges will too give more gifted work openings to the local people.
Pakistan can learn from other countries’ experience
Also, Pakistan should learn from the experience of other states in this regard. Several developed countries like China, the US, Turkey, Italy, Chile, Australia etc. has always valued the significance of mines and minerals sectors and added an exponential value to their GDPs. Chile developed the export of 2 billion USD from Non-Metal mineral based chemicals. While Australia and Brazil implemented chemical import substitution policies in early 1900s and have now export earnings of more than 80 billion USD through chemicals only.
According to a research study published in the international journal of ‘Resources Policy’ conducted by Runyu Zhou, Kashif Raza Abbasi and a few others, Pakistan is blessed with a wealth of mineral reserves that span 600,000 square km. Of the 92 minerals that have been explored in Pakistan, only 52 have been used, with an annual production rate of 68.52 million metric tons. However, the lack of potential realization in the minerals sector is pushing the country’s industrialization opportunities further away.
While reconstructing the minerals sector of Pakistan, Lasbela Chamber of Commerce and Industry conducted a mineral survey of Balochistan and encouraged Istanbul Chamber of Commerce for a meeting to discuss solutions to revive this sector. LCCI proposed ideas of technology transfer and Turkish investments for the development of mining sector. Because Turkey is growing massively in mineral exploration and value addition with a strong mechanization background. The country is developing mineral beneficiation equipment in the region to support the sector without having to purchase complete turnkey solutions from global markets.
Pakistan-China collaboration
Besides LCCI is also in contact with some Chinese equipment manufacturers to procure EPC solutions for Pakistan’s first Fluorite beneficiation plant. The chamber will then task its research and development to fabricate similar designs for further beneficiating industries.
LCCI firmly accepts that the endeavors will permit for new vistas of venture and exchange openings to rise, which should in turn reinforce exchange ties of Pakistan, as well as accomplish our SDG targets for an affluent, egalitarian and industrialised Pakistan.
Furthermore, the first-ever Fluorspar manufacturing facility to create Calcium Fluorite of acid grade will soon be put into operation in Pakistan as the country partnered with PUM Netherlands, a country known for its competence in the production of ferrochrome. Along with this, Pakistan is now engaged in numerous projects involving chromite, barite, barium chloride, barium carbonate, talc, antimony, and bauxite to aluminum.
